A Fateful Occurrence

This is the story of an Irish family's triumphs and tragedies in the aftermath of the1845 Potato Blight in Ireland which lasted for six years wiping out most of the crops and their courage to survive on a small farm as 'Tenants-at-Will' under the harsh and cruel Land Laws imposed on the Irish people by The English Government. The average tenant farmer lived at a subsistence level on less than ten acres.

These Catholic farmers could be evicted on short notice at the whim of the landlord, his agent, or middleman.

The potato had become the staple crop in the poorest regions and more than three million Irish peasants subsisted solely on the vegetable which is rich in protein, carbohydrates, minerals and vitamins.

It is possible to stay healthy on a diet of potatoes alone. The potato famine killed over a million men, women and children in Ireland and caused another million to flee the country. 'The Gregory Clause' exempted from relief anybody who owned more than a quarter of an acre of land.

This clause was widely misinterpreted and some who should have qualified for relief were refused. Unscrupulous landlords used this clause as an excuse to evict thousands of unwanted cottiers from their land.

The homeless were forced to join the workhouses or take shelter on other people's land' Daniel O'Reilly, third generation living on the farm, is devastated by the death of his beloved grandmother, Kate O'Hara who raised him.

Daniel knows he can never inherit the farm because of the Land Laws, so why stay? Can he survive alone in a foreign land or will all his hopes and dreams come to nothing?

Except for well documented historical events, this novel is purely fictitious.